Cubs vs. Rockies: Series Thread (Games 127-129)

Submitted by Charlie on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 08:31 pm

The Cubs will be working to break a 13-game home losing streak as they take on the Colorado Rockies. See below for the 3-game matchups.

Game 127, Monday, August 23, 7:05 pm central

CHC: RHP Kyle Hendricks (14-5, 4.04 ERA)

COL: RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-9, 4.58 ERA)

Hendricks bounced back from a horrendous start, and end of his undefeated streak, to pitch six innings and allow only one earned run in Cincinnati. He remains the Cubs' only bonified MLB starting pitcher.

The 26-year-old Senzatela has been coaxing groundballs at the major league level since 2017. He took a step forward in the shortened season and has continued to progress in 2021. He misses few bats, but he also limits the walks and keeps the ball on the ground pretty effectively.

Game 128, Tuesday, August 24, 7:05 pm central

CHC: LHP Justin Steele (2-2, 3.22 ERA)

COL: RHP German Marquez (11-9, 3.80 ERA)

Steele showed off some decent heat and a sharp slider in his last start, collecting five strikeouts in four innings. He walked three as well, however, and could not go past the fourth inning.

Marquez got blasted in San Francisco a couple starts ago and allowed three earned runs in 6.1 innings in his last start. Before that he'd had about a month-and-a-half of solid starts.

Game 129, Wednesday, August 25, 1:20 pm central

CHC: RHP Zach Davies (6-10, 5.04 ERA)

COL: LHP Austin Gomber (9-7, 4.15 ERA)

Is Zach Davies having the worst season of his career? Yes. Is he still better than most of the other options currently available to the Cubs? Apparently.

Gomber has struggled to miss bats for a couple starts in a row and has allowed eight earned runs in his last nine innings pitched. That's come on six walks and thirteen hits. His velo is also down a tad since the height of the season, so he may be showing some signs of weariness.

Tags
2021 Gameday Post

Comments

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 08:31 pm

"It's been determined that Nico Hoerner did not aggravate his oblique injury during a rehab game Sunday."

neet.

he's going to take "a couple days off" and then resume baseball activities...no idea if that means getting back into games immediately or just doing drills to make sure he's okay.

Submitted by crunch on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 08:24 pm

heyward sits tonight.  he's started the last 3 games and has a walk to show for it.

he had a hot start to july until the allstar break .333/.385/.375 (26 PA)

it's not stellar, but i'll take anything positive from heyward at this point.

since the allstar break he's been hitting .149/.171/.243 (76 PA)

Submitted by Cubster on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 08:05 pm

The Cub offense tonight thru 5 innings has 3 hits, one by Kyle Hendricks. The other two hits are by someone still hitting under .200 even after the hits (guessing allowed since the lineup features three hitting below the Mendoza line).

edit- I may have jinxed the lack of offense. Happ now has 3 hits

edit 2- Tied 4-4 in the 8th. I'm happy that Kyle Hendricks was taken "off the hook". 

edit 3- Walkoff Win!  Ortega two run HR in 9th.

Submitted by Eric S on Mon, 08/23/2021 - 08:13 pm

Nice comeback win - the guys seemed very pumped celebrating that walk-off W which is nice to see. 

Submitted by Sonicwind75 on Tue, 08/24/2021 - 08:29 pm

Rockies home/away splits are insane. 

Home:  43/22

Road:  14/46

Beating the Rockies when they are on the road is maybe the lowest bar of MLB achievement this season.  Good to see the guys were up to the challenge last night!

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 08/24/2021 - 08:48 pm

not cubs related...

...but if someone could break the f'n hands of whoever the asshole is playing the xylophone (or whatever that is) at oakland home games this season...that would be great.

only day game going on and this dude has his noisemaker again.

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Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 08:10 pm

very simple patterns, very small amount of "notes"...repeated over and over and over and over and over...and very loud.  they got a crew of drummers out there every game that doesn't come close to the volume of the xylophone (or whatever it is) dude.

he's only occasionally at games, but he's been there a good amount this season.

it might be a glockenspiel or vibraphone or some kinda wood block thing...whatever it is, it's too loud for the venue and dude isn't funky enough to work it properly.

Submitted by crunch on Tue, 08/24/2021 - 08:41 pm

yadi 1 year extension.  if they can manage to bring wainwright back that would be killer.

STL sucks and all that, but that duo has been working together for 17 years (wainwright did miss 1 of those seasons with injury, though).  that's insane rare in this era.

wainwright turns 40 in a few days and he's basically been awesome the past 2 years.  dunno if STL wants to throw money at that even with the history.

Submitted by azbobbop on Tue, 08/24/2021 - 08:48 pm

Question for AZ Phil and others...if the Cubs end up,with the 5th or 6th draft pick, will their second round pick be high enough to discourage the team from signing an UFA who will require compensation?

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 08:06 pm

azbobbop: It would be the height of Cubbery malpractice to flush the roster at the trade deadline in part to get a high draft slot (and accompanying bonus pool space) in the 2022 draft, only to sign a Qualified free-agent and lose a high second round pick (and the accompanying bonus pool space). 

That said, I do expect the Cubs to be active in free-agency and sign a handful of non-Qualified free-agents to premium short term contracts who can be flipped at the 2022 trade deadline if the Cubs are not in contention. In other words, the deals would be for only one or two years (MAYBE three in certain cases), but with a relatively high AAV that the Cubs could offset with cash in a deadline trade. 

Non-qualified free-agents the Cubs might target would probably be a 1B (like Anthony Rizzo or Brandon Belt), a LF who could be the DH (like Kyle Schwarber or Joc Pederson), a veteran journeyman SS (like maybe Jose Iglesias), a LHSP (like maybe Alex Wood or Robbie Ray if they don't get a QO), and a couple of veteran relievers (like maybe Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera, or maybe even Kendall Graveman if the Cubs want a veteran closer to help provide stability to the pen while the young guys grow into high-leverage roles). 

I also believe the Cubs will actively shop both Willson Contreras and Kyle Hendricks once the new CBA is signed, trading them for prospects and then replacing them with free=agents.     

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 08:01 pm

Today is a big start for Zach Davies, in so far as making him more-attractive to a contender in a potential Outright Assignment Waiver claim this weekend or early next week.  

I could see the Padres, Giants, and Dodgers (especially the Padres) as three teams who would have at least passing intetest in adding Davies as SP depth for September and the post-season, but for Davies to be eligible to pitch in the post-season, he would have to be claimed no later than next Tuesday (8/31).  

Also, there will be approximately $2M left in salary for Davies if he were to be claimed, so any club making a claim might want to have a separate side-deal worked-out in advance with the Cubs involving minor league players (who can be traded up until one week is left in the MLB regular season) and cash where as part of the separate side minor league deal the Cubs include $1M in cash to offset half of Davies remaining salary.

EXAMPLE: Padres call the Cubs and say if you put Davies on Outright Assignment Waivers we will claim him, but then there needs to be a separate side minor league trade where the Cubs send (let's say) CF Ismael Mena and INF Yeison Santana (two of the players the Cubs received in the Darvish trade) back to SD along with a $1M in cash, and then the Cubs get a SD top 10 prospect (TBD) who is not on the MLB 40-man roster (because players on an MLB 40-man roster or MLB 60-day IL -- as well as players who were outrighted to the minors from the MLB 40-man roster -- cannot be traded or be a PTBNL in a minor league trade after the MLB Trade Deadline has passed).    

Same thing if it's the Dodgers or Giants (or some other contender) promising to make the claim. 

Veteran MLB guys at AAA Iowa like LHRP Tony Cingrani, RHSP Joe Biagini, and OF Ian Miller will also likely be available in minor league trades (even if it's just a five-figure cash return) in the coming days.

Also, LHRP Rex Brothers, C Robinson Chirinos, INF Matt Duffy, LHRP Adam Morgan, SS Andrew Romine, and C Austin Romine should be placed on Outright Assignment Waivers in the coming days, if nothing else to receive the $50,000 waiver claim fee and get out from under the player's remaining salary if the player is claimed. (Brothers and Morgan are not post-2021 free-agents, but they are arbitration-eligible post-2021 so they are likely to be non-tendered on 12/2, if not released sometime prior to December if their slots on the 40 are needed for prospects).      

Besides the six post-2021 MLB Article XX-B free-agents (Chirinos, Davies, Duffy, Lobaton, and the two Romines) and Brothers and Morgan, other players currently on the Cubs MLB 40-man roster or MLB 60-day IL who will likely by dropped after the season (even before contracts are tendered) include P. J. Higgins, Jonathan Holder, Jake Jewell, Ryan Meisinger, Adrian Sampson, and Kohl Stewart. 

Likely 12/2 non-tender candidates are players eligible for salary arbitration who are coming off injuries (Rowan Wick, who could be a "Super Two") or a disappointing season (Ian Happ), and "on the bubble players" who are out of minor league options in 2022 (Sergio Alcantara, Michael Hermosillo, Dillon Maples, Rafael Ortega, and Brad Wieck) and who therefore cannot be optioned to the minors next season.

In the case of Alcantara, Hermosillo, Maples, Ortega, and Wieck, the idea would be to non-tender the player on 12/2, and then re-sign the player (after the conclusion of the Rule 5 Draft) to a pre-arranged 2022 minor league contract for "40-man roster money" (maybe even a bit more) with an NRI to MLB Spring Training. If the player indicates he is not willing to accept the offer, the player would (if possible) likely get traded for a player not on the 40 prior to the 11/19 roster filing deadline. (The roster filing deadline is usually 11/20, but it is moved up a day in 2021 because 11/20 falls on a Saturday this year).   

Of the players I believe will be non-tendered,  Dillon Maples would probably be the one least-likely to accept a minor league deal after being non-tendered. David Ross clearly has zero confidence in him, and I would think Maples sees that and would want to get a fresh start elsewhere. So I expect Maples will get traded prior to 11/19 (could even be that day), with a return similar to what the Cubs got back for Duane Underwood Jr (minor league 1B Shendrik Apostel) and James Norwood (minor league RHRP Dauris Valdez) earlier this year. 

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Submitted by Arizona Phil on Fri, 08/27/2021 - 08:55 am

Something to keep in mind about Ian Happ with regard to post-2021 salary arbitration is that because he was awarded a 2021 contract by an arbitration panel, he will - NOT - be subject to the maximum 20% salary cut post-2021. He can be cut in excess of 20% (that is, in excess of $820K from his 2021 $4.1M salary), although obviously Happ would not accept that much of a cut and would certainly take it (once again) to an arbitration panel. And once it goes to an arbitration panel it is a total "crap shoot" for both sides. 

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Submitted by crunch on Fri, 08/27/2021 - 08:55 pm

he's been doing well the past 2 weeks, but this last month of play might be his most important as a cub as far as his future.

thankfully for him, he's got no competition because the system is bare up top because we traded all our stars for zach davies, 2 dozen 17 year olds, and a no-power no-walking 2nd baseman who's not going to show up until 2022.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 08:49 pm

1- patrick wisdom hits homer #21 in 261 PA

2- partick widsom Ks #102 in 261 PA

this is awesome and terrible.

Submitted by crunch on Wed, 08/25/2021 - 08:13 pm

HAPP!

Submitted by Arizona Phil on Tue, 08/31/2021 - 08:55 am

Today (Tuesday 8/31) is the deadline for MLB clubs to acquire players off Outright Assignment Waivers so that the player would be eligible to play in the MLB post-season, so I would expect a flurry of waiver claims as well as a few trades involving players on minor league reserve lists who were not outrighted to the minors to be announced later today. 

Today is also the deadline to sign a free-agent to an MLB or minor league contract so that the player would be eligible to play in the MLB post-season, so I would expect a number of free-agents to be signed today as well.

Players can still be claimed off Outright Assignmment Waivers in September. It's just that a player claimed off waivers after 8/31 cannot play in the post-season. And players on minor league reserve lists who were not outrighted to the minors can be traded up until seven days prior to the conclusion of the MLB regular season. The reason this might happen is that a contending club who is not sure of making the playoffs might suffer an injury or multiple injuries during the month of September, and acquiring reinforcements just to get to the post-season might become necessary, even though a player acquired or signed after 8/31 cannot play in the post-season. 

In addition, today (8/31) is the end of the waiver period that commenced an hour after the MLB Trade Deadline. Outright Assignment Waivers secured during this expiring waiver period were in effect ("good") for the entire waiver period. The new waiver period begins tomorrow (9/1) and will extend through the 30th day of the 2022 MLB regular season. Outright Assignment Waivers secured during this waiver period expire after seven days.

Also, a player claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers during the waiver period that begins on 9/1 and extends through the 30th day of the MLB regular season cannot be placed back onto Outright Assignment Waivers again for at least seven days if the player is claimed during the period of time starting on the day after conclusion of the MLB regular season and extending up until the first day of MLB Spring Training (the day pitches & catchers report). Then beginning on the first day of ML:B Spring Training and extending through the final day of the MLB regular season, a player claimed off Outright Assignment Waivers cannot be placed back onto Outright Assignment Waivers again for at least 48 hours or until the player has spent at least one day on the claiming club's MLB Active List (whichever comes first).  

Also, the MLB Active List roster limit will expand from 26 to 28 starting tomorrow (9/1).

And then a bit further down the line, all players on Optional Assignment to the minors must be recalled no later than the day after the conclusion of the MLB regular season, and all MLB and minor league players on an MLB or minor league 60-day IL must be reinstated no later than 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series. 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day after the final game of the World Series is also when MLB Rule 9 (formerly MLB Rule 55 ) minor leaguers eligible to be a minor league 6YFA or second-contract free-agent are automatically declared free-agents. The minor league Domestic Reserve List limit is expanded from 180 players to 190 at this same time.

The 5th day after the final game of the World Series is also the deadline to place an MLB Rule 6 "Draft-Excluded Player" on Outright Assignment Waivers. A "Draft-Excluded Player" is defined as a minor league player who has accrued less than three years of MLB Service Time in his career and who would have been eligible for selection in the MLB Rule 5 Draft if he was on a minor league reserve list, but who had his contract selected and was added to an MLB 40-man roster after August 15th. At present, the Cubs have four Draft-Excluded Players (Scott Effross, Michael Hermosillo, Alfonso Rivas, ansd Adrian Sampson) on their MLB 40-man roster. These four players cannot be outrighted to the minors any later than 14 business days after the final game of the World Series and then extending up until 20 days prior to MLB Opening Day. They can be traded, released, or non-tendered. They just can't be outrighted to the minors during that period of time.    

BTW, when a reference is made to the day of the "final game of the World Series," it is the day the game starts, not when it ends. So (for example) if the game runs long and extends past midnight, the day of the "final game of the World Series" is the day the game started, not when it concluded. The one exception would be if the final game of the World Series is suspended prior to completion and then is re-started on another day. In that case, the day the suspended game re-starts is considered to be the day of the final game of the World Series.  

Also, the deadline to file MLB and minor league reserve lists with the MLB office will be November 19th, moved up a day from the usuial 11/20 deadline because 11/20 falls on a Saturday in 2021. 

The MLB contract tender date is 12/2, which is the one and only day of the year when a club can remove a player from its MLB 40-man roster without exposing the player to waivers.   

Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full), plus three are on the 60-DAY IL

26 players are on the MLB ACTIVE LIST, plus three are on the 15-DAY IL, two are on the 10-DAY IL, and nine are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors  

Last updated 6-7-2023
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 13
Adbert Alzolay
Javier Assad
Jeremiah Estrada
Michael Fulmer
Kyle Hendricks
* Brandon Hughes
Mark Leiter Jr 
Julian Merryweather
Michael Rucker
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele 
Marcus Stroman
Jameson Taillon 
Hayden Wesneski

CATCHERS: 3 
Miguel Amaya
* Tucker Barnhart 
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 6
Nico Hoerner
* Miles Mastrobuoni 
* Matt Mervis
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4 
# Ian Happ
Trey Mancini 
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman

OPTIONED: 9
Keven Alcantara, OF 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Ryan Jensen, P 
Caleb Kilian, P  
Nick Madrigal, INF 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Nelson Velazquez, OF

10-DAY IL: 2 
* Cody Bellinger, OF 
* Edwin Rios, 1B 

15-DAY IL: 3 
Brad Boxberger, P 
Nick Burdi, P  
* Justin Steele, P 

60-DAY IL: 3 
Codi Heuer, P 
Ethan Roberts, P
Adrian Sampson, P 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents